Elevator Speech and Voki

Contributors:
Emily Felker
Cynthia MacDonald
Jenny Davidson

Here's some brainstorming subjects to get us started on our elevator speech "sales pitch"
1. benfits of collaboration on student learning
Students will be more engaged in the lessons and will have more individualized attention. Collaborating with librarians also give teachers the opportunity to work with students in small groups more frequently. Librarians can help students with all academic areas.
Students will enjoy having autonomy over their learning through inquiry based projects. Students will gain information literacy skills that will prepare them for 21st century learning.
The teacher-librarian can support the learning that takes place in the classroom. With teachers and librarians sharing ideas, the students will benefit from improved instructional practices.

2. benefits to the teacher
Two heads are better than one. Teachers can gain new perspectives from the librarian and also have assistance with planning, preparing for, and implementing lessons. Librarians can also help introduce and teach new technology tools to the teacher and students and demonstrate how they can effectively be used for student learning.
Collaboration helps teachers take their lessons deeper and integrate information literacy skills. Smaller student/teacher ratios allows for more individualized attention and easier classroom management (Moreillon, 7).
Librarians can provide resources and support for technology projects (MacGregor, 39).
By working together, educators can create a list of ideas and select the best ones for implementation. Reading and information literacy skills can be incorporated into all content areas.

3. ideas of collaboration projects
inquiry based research projects
literacy groups and literacy/information circles
lessons using web 2.0 tools

Works consulted:
Moreillon, Judi. Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007. Print.
McGregor, J. "Collaboration and Leadership." Curriculum Connections through the Library. Eds. Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 199-219. Print.

Rough Draft:
Do you feel overwhelmed with lesson planning, assessments, and creating and implementing effective lessons? Come to the library where we can work together to increase student learning and success. I am Suzanne Harper, librarian here at Mockingbird Elementary School. Together we can co-plan and co-teach lessons, and I can assist you with gathering resources, introduce and teach new technology tools to you and your students, integrate information literacy skills across the curriculum, and lower the teacher to student ratio. When we collaborate, we can combine our ideas to create effective lessons for any content area. Through our collaboration, students will get more individualized attention, be more engaged in the lesson, gain information literacy skills, and learn how to become lifelong learners through inquiry based projects. Please do not hesitate to visit me at the library to get started collaborating on inquiry based research projects, information literacy lessons, and Web 2.0 tools. Our goal is to promote student success, and when we work together, we can achieve that!
Cindy- Sounds great! Sounds good to me, too!

Elevator Speech:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12618914/elevator-speech
Voki Introduction:

Contributors:
Emily Felker
Cynthia MacDonald
Jenny Davidson

Start with - “Hi, my name is Suzanne Harper, the librarian at Mockingbird Elementary School in Birdville, TX.”
- here to collaborate with teachers to help students become lifelong learners
-promote an enjoyment of reading and develop skills to read for meaning
-believe that more is accomplished when we work together at the library (I like this since it goes with our theme...maybe add something about librarian and teacher working together and working with students)
-please let me know what I can do to help you in educating 21st century learners
-The library is not just a place to find books. It is also a place to learn and grow, a place to find and use information, and a place to explore new ideas and technology.

Rough Draft:
Hi, my name is Suzanne Harper, the librarian at Mockingbird Elementary School in Birdville, TX. I believe the library is not just a place to find books. It is also a place to learn and grow, a place to find and use information, and a place to explore new ideas and technology. I also believe that more is accomplished when we work together at the library. My goal is to work with teachers and students to promote an enjoyment of reading and to help students develop reading skills and become lifelong learners. Please let me know what I can do to help you in educating 21st century learners. Sounds good! I like it!

Voki:
Suzanne Harper Voki